Defining pairing rules for connections

ABSTRACT

A system and method for compressing that comprises establishing attributes or elements to build a schema that is utilized to generate a record that includes the connection descriptions, building a set of substitution rules by using range expressions and substitution variables, and utilizing the set of substitution rules to associate value assignments that compress the connection descriptions within the record.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/066,363, Filed on Mar. 10, 2016, and U.S. application Ser. No.14/563,635, filed on Dec. 8, 2014, the disclosures of which areincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

The present disclosure relates generally to effectively defining pairingrules for connections, and more specifically, to defining substitutionrules and variables, along with organizing source and destinationattributes in ranges, via Extensible Markup Language (XML) documents torepresent physical cable wiring and/or virtual cable connections.

BACKGROUND

In general, legacy code iterates through a list of cable connection datato verify wiring and generate a verified record detailing a physicalcable wiring of a mainframe. Yet, due to the nature of the legacy code,there are many unavoidable if-then-else conditional clauses that makethe legacy code difficult to maintain.

For example, to add a new wiring rule to the legacy code, the legacycode must be extensively parsed to identify the right location in whichto add the new wiring rule and corresponding verification code.Moreover, tasks such as defining all possible cabling combinations areeven more tedious and error prone, particularly because differencesbetween two different wiring connections can be very discrete andimperceptible.

SUMMARY

Embodiments include a method, system, and computer program product forcompressing connection descriptions of an operation environment,comprising: establishing, by a management system, source and destinationattributes of the connection descriptions to build a schema; generatinga record of the connection descriptions based on the schema, wherein theschema is stored in an XML document; generating a set of substitutionrules by using range expressions and substitution variables, whereineach rule of the set of substitution rule comprises an ID, a key, and avalue, wherein the value defines a pattern string that includes avariable name used in substitution, wherein the set of substitutionrules is stored in the XML document stored in the memory; utilizing theset of substitution rules to associate value assignments that compressthe connection descriptions within the record; parsing the record toidentify one of the compressed connection descriptions; locating a rulefrom the set of substitution rules based on a corresponding variablename utilizing the value within the one of the compressed connectiondescriptions; and generating a final value for the one of the compressedconnection descriptions utilizing the rule.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniquesof the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of thedisclosure are described in detail herein. For a better understanding ofthe disclosure with the advantages and the features, refer to thedescription and to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion ofthe specification. The forgoing and other features, and advantages ofthe invention are apparent from the following detailed description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a process flow in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 depicts another process flow in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts a cloud computing node according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 depicts a cloud computing environment according to an embodimentof the present invention; and

FIG. 5 depicts abstraction model layers according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In view of the nature of the legacy code described above, embodimentsdescribed herein relate to defining substitution rules and variables,along with organizing source and destination attributes in ranges, viaExtensible Markup Language (XML) documents to represent physical cablewiring and/or virtual cable connections.

Further, embodiments described herein can be implemented via a system, amethod, and/or computer program product (e.g., herein summarized as amanagement system and described further below with reference to FIG. 3,FIG. 4, and FIG. 5) configured to generate records of connections tosolve I/O cabling documentation problems and/or pairing itemizationproblems in an operation environment, such as a mainframe, a softwaresystem, cloud environment, etc. Particularly, the management systemimplements range and substitution models to source and destinationattributes of connections to improve and increase clustering. Themanagement system further implements defined substitution rules andvariables to represent a cable location pattern in the records, whichare managed by the management system in XML documents.

For example, the management system is associated with the operationenvironment, includes a computer, and operates in accordance with a setof instructions stored on a memory. The set of instructions are executedby a processor of the computer and cause the management system tocompress connection descriptions of the operation environment. Inoperation, the management system establishes attributes or elements tobuild a schema that is utilized to generate a record that includes theconnection descriptions. Further, the management system builds a set ofsubstitution rules by using range expressions and substitution variablesand utilizes the set of substitution rules to associate valueassignments that compress the connection descriptions within the record.In turn, the management system can parse the record to identify one ofthe compressed connection descriptions, locate a substitution rule fromthe set of substitution rules by a value of an element or attributewithin the one of the compressed connection descriptions, and generate afinal value for the one of the compressed connection descriptionsutilizing the substitution rule.

In this way, the management system optimizes connection recordgeneration by ensuring each connection of the record is correct via apredefined wiring rule, ensuring there are no duplicate connectionsgenerated in a record, and determining that correct connections areutilized during implementation of the operation environment.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a process flow 100 is generally shown inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. At block 110,the management system establishes attributes or elements to build aschema in which the management system will utilize to generate recordsof connections (e.g., physical cable wiring and/or virtual cableconnections).

In one embodiment, physical cable wiring or cabling records can includesource and destination endpoints of cables. The source endpoints aredescribed by enclosure identifications and card types. The destinationendpoints are described by slot identifications (e.g., and the enclosureid and card type of the field replaceable unit or ‘fru’ which itcontains). Cabling records can also include location information for thecable record in a virtual private database for the fru in thedestination endpoint. The location information can follow a specificpattern that contains many parts such as enclosure location, fru name,and jack for both ends of the cable, slot, and type.

One example of the substitution XML schema is defined as follows:

<?xml version=“1.0” encoding=“UTF-8” ?> <xs:schemaxmlns:xs=“http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema”> <xs:element name=“fru”> <xs:complexType>    <xs:attribute name=“record_type” type=“xs:string”   use=“required”/>    <xs:attribute name=“location” type=“xs:string”use=“required”/>    <xs:attribute name=“ccin” type=“xs:string”use=“required”/>    <xs:attribute name=“part_number” type=“xs:string”   use=“required”/>  </xs:complexType> </xs:element> <xs:elementname=“to”>  <xs:complexType>    <xs:sequence>      <xs:element ref=“fru”maxOccurs=“unbounded”>    </xs:sequence>    <xs:attributename=“enclosure” type=“xs:string” use=“required”/>    <xs:attributename=“slot” type=“xs:string” use=“required”/>    <xs:attributename=“card_type” type=“xs:string” use=“required”/>    <xs:attributename=“jack” type=“xs:string” use=“required”/>  </xs:complexType></xs:element> <xs:element name=“from”>  <xs:complexType>   <xs:sequence>      <xs:element ref=“to” maxOccurs=“unbounded”>   </xs:sequence>    <xs:attribute name=“enclosure” type=“xs:string”use=“required”/>    <xs:attribute name=“slot” type=“xs:string”use=“required”/>    <xs:attribute name=“card_type” type=“xs:string”use=“optional”/>    <xs:attribute name=“base_card_type” type=“xs:string”   use=“optional”/>    <xs:attribute name=“daughter_card_type”type=“xs:string”    use=“optional”/>    <xs:attribute name=“jack”type=“xs:string” use=“required”/>  </xs:complexType> </xs:element><xs:element name=“substitution”>  <xs:complexType>    <xs:attributename=“key” type=“xs:string” use=“required”/>    <xs:attribute name=“id”type=“xs:string” use=“required”/>    <xs:attribute name=“value”type=“xs:string” use=“required”/>  </xs:complexType> </xs:element><xs:element name=“io_cable_rules”>  <xs:complexType>    <xs:sequence>     <xs:element ref=“substitution” maxOccurs=“unbounded”>   </xs:sequence>    <xs:sequence>      <xs:element ref=“from”maxOccurs=“unbounded”>    </xs:sequence>      <xs:attribute name=“value”type=“xs:string” use=“required”/>  </xs:complexType> </xs:element> </xs:schema>Note that in the <from>element, the “enclosure” attribute is using arange expression to include for multiple source endpoints. Further, inthe <to>element, the “slot” attribute is using a range expression toinclude multiple target endpoints.

At block 120, the management system generates a set of rules, along withperforming value assignments. That is, the management system builds thesubstitution rules that define connections and wiring pairing.Embodiments of the design compress content (e.g., connectiondescriptions) by using range expressions and substitution variables,where the substitution values can be stored in the same or different XMLdocuments as the records, and/or fed by the management system duringrun-time.

With respect to range expressions, the management system can defineconnections between two endpoints by applying a range expression, e.g.,as denoted by the expression:(([0-9]+|0[xX][0-9a-fA-F]+)(\\.\\.([0-9]+|0[xX][0-9a-fA-F]+))*)(?:$|[,]+).Further, a range string can be defined as “[numbers, numberLow . . .numberHigh]”. In this way, the following sample [0×1, 0×3, 0×4 . . .0×8, 0×13, 0×15 . . . 0×19] describes illustrates that 0×2 is omittedwhile all values including and between 0×4 and 0×8 are included.

With respect to substitution rules and substitution variables, themanagement system may implement the following rule set:

<!-- Substitution --> < substitution id=“location” key=“internal”value=“$loc_f;$fru_f ”/> < substitution id=“location” key=“external-IC”value=“Sloc_f$j_f;-ICBCBL”/> < substitution id=“location”key=“external-IF” value=“$loc_f.$j_f;-IFBCBL”/>where the <substitution> section defines all substitution rules. Eachrule contains the ID, key, and value. ID specifies which element orattribute will be applied this rule. Key is used in subsequent XMLelements to refer to this rule. Value defines the pattern string whichincludes the variable names used in the substitution.

At block 130, the management system utilizes the set of substitutionrules to associate the value assignments when describing connections.Block 130 will now be described with respect to FIG. 2, which is aprocess flow 200 that in accordance with another embodiment of thepresent invention. At block 210, the management system can parse the XMLdocument to identify a connection. For example, to find a given thecable connection, such as one with the description of:

<!-- PCIe cables --> <from enclosure=“[16..20]” slot=“0x6502”card_type=“0x10351007”>  <to enclosure=“[33,39]” slot_type=“0x10”min_slot=“01”  max_slot=“19”  card_type=“0x10352002”>      <frurecord_type=“fru” location=“internal” ccin=“C002”     part_number=“46K3”/>  </to> </from>the management system can parse the XML, document with a map ofkey/value. One example of a key/value map is as follows:map={“loc_F:”myLocF”, “fruUf”:”myFru”}.

Then, at block 220, the management system locates a rule by a value ofan element or attribute within the connection. For instance, if theelement or attribute of the cable connection is the ID of thesubstitution rule, then the management system locates the substitutionrule by that value. In the above example, the rule is with the key“internal”.

Next, at block 230, the management system generates the final valueutilizing the rule. For example, because the value of the rule is“$loc_f;$fru_f”, the management system can utilize this value to look upin the map the final value of “myLocF;myFru”.

In view of the above, embodiments herein include a method, system, andcomputer program product for compressing connection descriptions of anoperation environment, comprising: establishing attributes or elementsto build a schema that is utilized to establishing source anddestination attributes of the connection descriptions to build a schema;generating a record of the connection descriptions based on the schema;utilizing range expressions and substitution variables to generate a setof substitution rules; associating via the set of substitution rulesvalue assignments that compresses the connection descriptions within therecord to produce a plurality of compressed connections; parsing therecord to identify a first compressed connection within the plurality ofcompressed connections; locating a substitution rule from the set ofsubstitution rules by a value assignment of the first compressedconnection; and generating a final value for the first compressedconnection utilizing the substitution rule.

Embodiments of the present invention, such as a management system thatimplements the process flows 100, 200 described above, may be a system(e.g., a mainframe or software system implemented on a cloud computingenvironment), a method, and/or a computer program product. Further, itis understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects and/or embodiments of thepresent invention. The computer readable storage medium can be atangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by aninstruction execution device.

The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is notlimited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, anoptical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

With respect to implementing aspect and/or embodiments of the presentinvention on cloud computing environment, cloud computing in general isa model of service delivery for enabling convenient, on-demand networkaccess to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g.networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing, memory, storage,applications, virtual machines, and services) that can be rapidlyprovisioned and released with minimal management effort or interactionwith a provider of the service. This cloud model may include at leastfive characteristics, at least three service models, and at least fourdeployment models. Characteristics can be on-demand self-service; broadnetwork access; resource pooling; rapid elasticity; and measuredservice.

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Three service models can include Software as a Service (SaaS); Platformas a Service (PaaS); and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).

SaaS: the capability provided to the consumer is to use the provider'sapplications running on a cloud infrastructure. The applications areaccessible from various client devices through a thin client interfacesuch as a web browser (e.g., web-based email). The consumer does notmanage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network,servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual applicationcapabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specificapplication configuration settings.

PaaS: the capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto thecloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications createdusing programming languages and tools supported by the provider. Theconsumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructureincluding networks, servers, operating systems, or storage, but hascontrol over the deployed applications and possibly application hostingenvironment configurations.

IaaS: the capability provided to the consumer is to provisionprocessing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resourceswhere the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software, whichcan include operating systems and applications. The consumer does notmanage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has controlover operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and possiblylimited control of select networking components (e.g., host firewalls).

The deployment models can include private cloud; community cloud, publiccloud; and hybrid cloud.

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for loadbalancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a schematic of an example of a cloud computingnode is shown. A cloud computing node 310 is only one example of asuitable cloud computing node and is not intended to suggest anylimitation as to the scope of use or functionality of embodiments of theinvention described herein. Regardless, the cloud computing node 310 iscapable of being implemented and/or performing any of the functionalityset forth hereinabove.

In the cloud computing node 310 there is a computer system/server 312,which is operational with numerous other general purpose or specialpurpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples ofwell-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations thatmay be suitable for use with the computer system/server 312 include, butare not limited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems,thin clients, thick clients, handheld or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

The computer system/server 312 may be described in the general contextof computer system executable instructions, such as program modules,being executed by a computer system. Generally, program modules mayinclude routines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures,and so on that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstractdata types. The computer system/server 312 may be practiced indistributed cloud computing environments where tasks are performed byremote processing devices that are linked through a communicationsnetwork. In a distributed cloud computing environment, program modulesmay be located in both local and remote computer system storage mediaincluding memory storage devices.

As shown in FIG. 3, the computer system/server 312 in the cloudcomputing node 310 is shown in the form of a general-purpose computingdevice. The components of the computer system/server 312 may include,but are not limited to, one or more processors or processing units(e.g., processor 314), a system memory 316, and a bus 318 that couplesvarious system components including the system memory 316 to theprocessor 314.

The bus 318 represents one or more of any of several types of busstructures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus usingany of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and notlimitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture(ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA)bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, andPeripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.

The computer system/server 312 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by the computer system/server 312, and it includes bothvolatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

The system memory 316 can include computer system readable media in theform of volatile memory, such as a random access memory (RAM) 320 and/ora cache memory 322. The computer system/server 312 may further includeother removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer systemstorage media. By way of example only, storage system 324 can beprovided for reading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatilemagnetic media (not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Althoughnot shown, a magnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to aremovable, non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and anoptical disk drive for reading from or writing to a removable,non-volatile optical disk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other opticalmedia can be provided. In such instances, each can be connected to thebus 318 by one or more data media interfaces. As will be furtherdepicted and described below, the system memory 316 may include at leastone program product having a set (e.g., at least one) of program modulesthat are configured to carry out the functions of embodiments of theinvention.

For example, a program/utility 326, having a set (at least one) ofprogram modules (e.g., a program module 328), may be stored in thesystem memory 316 by way of example, and not limitation, as well as anoperating system, one or more application programs, other programmodules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one or moreapplication programs, other program modules, and program data or somecombination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. The program modules 326 generally carry out the functionsand/or methodologies of embodiments of the invention as describedherein.

The computer system/server 312 may also communicate (e.g., viaInput/Output (I/O) interfaces, such as I/O interface 330) with one ormore external devices, such as a keyboard 340, a pointing device, adisplay 342, etc.; one or more devices that enable a user to interactwith the computer system/server 312; and/or any devices (e.g., networkcard, modem, etc.) that enable the computer system/server 312 tocommunicate with one or more other computing devices. Still yet, thecomputer system/server 312 can communicate with one or more networkssuch as a local area network (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN),and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via a network adapter 344.As depicted, the network adapter 344 communicates with the othercomponents of the computer system/server 312 via the bus 318. It shouldbe understood that although not shown, other hardware and/or softwarecomponents could be used in conjunction with the computer system/server312. Examples, include, but are not limited to: microcode, devicedrivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAIDsystems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 4, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, the cloud computing environment 450 comprises one ormore cloud computing nodes 310 with which local computing devices usedby cloud consumers, such as, for example, a personal digital assistant(PDA) or cellular telephone 454A, a desktop computer 454B, a laptopcomputer 454C, and/or an automobile computer system 454N maycommunicate. The cloud computing nodes 310 may communicate with oneanother. They may be grouped (not shown) physically or virtually, in oneor more networks, such as Private, Community, Public, or Hybrid cloudsas described hereinabove, or a combination thereof. This allows cloudcomputing environment 450 to offer infrastructure, platforms and/orsoftware as services for which a cloud consumer does not need tomaintain resources on a local computing device. It is understood thatthe types of computing devices 454A-N shown in FIG. 4 are intended to beillustrative only and that the computing nodes 310 and cloud computingenvironment 450 can communicate with any type of computerized deviceover any type of network and/or network addressable connection (e.g.,using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 5, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 450 (FIG. 4) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 5 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided:

A hardware and software layer 560 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include mainframes, in oneexample IBM zSeries systems; RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer)architecture based servers, in one example IBM p Series systems; IBMxSeries systems; IBM BladeCenter systems; storage devices; networks andnetworking components. Examples of software components include networkapplication server software, in one example IBM WebSphere applicationserver software; and database software, in one example IBM DB2 databasesoftware. (IBM, zSeries, p Series, xSeries, BladeCenter, Web Sphere, andDB2 are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporationregistered in many jurisdictions worldwide).

A virtualization layer 562 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers;virtual storage; virtual networks, including virtual private networks;virtual applications and operating systems; and virtual clients.

In one example, a management layer 564 may provide the functionsdescribed below. Resource provisioning provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricingprovide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators.

Service level management provides cloud computing resource allocationand management such that required service levels are met. Service LevelAgreement (SLA) planning and fulfillment provides pre-arrangement for,and procurement of, cloud computing resources for which a futurerequirement is anticipated in accordance with an SLA.

A workloads layer 566 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation; software development and lifecycle management; virtualclassroom education delivery; data analytics processing; transactionprocessing; and mobile desktop.

Technical effects and benefits of embodiments of the management systeminclude generating records of connections that solve I/O cablingdocumentation problems and/or pairing itemization problems in operationenvironments. Further, embodiments of the management system optimizeconnection record generation by ensuring each connection of the recordis correct via a predefined wiring rule, ensuring there are no duplicateconnections generated in a record, and determining that correctconnections are utilized during implementation of the operationenvironment. In this way, embodiments of the management system improveupon XML code by adding flexibility and extensibility thatsaves/restores object data to/from with respect to XML documentsincluding the connection records.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of onemore other features, integers, steps, operations, element components,and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for compressing connection descriptionsof an operation environment, the method executed by a management systemincluding a processor and a memory, the method comprising: establishing,by the management system, source and destination attributes of theconnection descriptions to build a schema; generating a record of theconnection descriptions based on the schema, wherein the schema isstored in an XML, document; generating a set of substitution rules byusing range expressions and substitution variables, wherein each rule ofthe set of substitution rule comprises an ID, a key, and a value,wherein the value defines a pattern string that includes a variable nameused in substitution, wherein the set of substitution rules is stored inthe XML document stored in the memory; utilizing the set of substitutionrules to associate value assignments that compress the connectiondescriptions within the record; parsing the record to identify one ofthe compressed connection descriptions; locating a rule from the set ofsubstitution rules based on a corresponding variable name utilizing thevalue within the one of the compressed connection descriptions; andgenerating a final value for the one of the compressed connectiondescriptions utilizing the rule.